(1) Technical Field
The present invention relates to an enhancer device, and more particularly, to an enhancer device for enhancing the utility and look of a user's bed.
(2) Related Prior Art
Throughout history, a bed has been used for sleeping, sexual intercourse, and as a place to rest for health. In order to enhance a utility of the bed, a variety of apparatus and tools have been conceived. For example, straps and slings are well known and have been used in many activities and have been produced in many forms. Straps and slings have been used in medical offices for medical examinations and in people's homes for medical limb support for recuperation after an injury or surgery. They have also been used during sexual activities to support body parts, such as buttocks, legs, and hands.
Devices have been proposed for use during conjugal relations and are responsive to manipulation or control by a partner to establish a predetermined relation or movement between the partners. Such devices can be used as a novelty, a toy, an enhancer, and an aid. They can also be used when one partner suffers a physical impairment or limitation that otherwise may inhibit or prohibit conjugal relations. Such prior devices include the following:
U.S. Pat. No. 784,425, issued to Phillips, discloses a portable stirrups device which comprises: (1) a flat support surface for placement on a table or bed and for supporting the buttocks of the user; (2) stirrups or foot-rests that are secured to the flat support; and (3) a clamping mechanism for rigidly securing the device to the bed, i.e., for clamping to the side rail of a bed.
U.S. Pat. No. 828,007, issued to Williams, discloses a portable and collapsible operating table that comprises: (1) an intermediate portion for supporting the buttocks/back of a patient and (2) integral and rigid foot rests including heel rests. The device can be placed on a bed or bench or even used as a stretcher.
U.S. Pat. No. 1,894,739, issued to Gilbert, also discloses a portable and collapsible surgical operating table having a foldable central portion for supporting the buttocks or back of the patient and which includes knee rests, rather than foot rests.
U.S. Pat. No. 2,978,713, issued to Scalizitti et al., discloses a portable examining table that comprises a central flat support portion upon which the patient lies and which anchors the table on a bed without the need for any mechanical attachment to the bed (col. 3, lines 5-7). A pair of knee rests are adjustably coupled to respective upstanding side portions.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,227,439, issued to Carlson, discloses an operating table that utilizes leg support portions that pivot about a vertical axis. Similar patents include U.S. Pat. No. 3,227,440, issued to Scott, and U.S. Pat. No. 4,239,200, issued to Sarrafian et al. Stirrups having leg holders that laterally pivot are shown in U.S. Pat. No. 358,513, issued to Walton.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,907,270, issued to Ezzo, discloses a portable examining table that comprises a central flat support for placement on a table with a transverse/bent and leg support member rotatably secured to one end of the flat support. A pair of molded plastic stirrups is fixed on opposite side of the transverse leg support. When the examining table is placed on a table or other surface along with the transverse/bent support member, the patient, with the buttocks on the central portion, can slip her feet into the stirrups.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,940,286, issued to Nguti, discloses a bed attachment that comprises a buttocks support section and having right and left support sections that can pivot in a lateral direction to assist in sexual activity, especially for arm amputees or other handicapped individuals.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,101,652, issued to Matern, Jr., discloses foldable leg stirrups for use during sex or medical examination that can be concealed, after use, between the mattress/box spring of a bed, or under the seat cushion(s) of a couch or chair, or between the mattress/cushion and frame of an examination table.
However, it is apparent that none of these devices can be used proximate the bed without the strength, support, or style that the new invention can offer. Thus, there remains a need for an enhancer device that can work in accordance with a bed for enhancing the utility of the bed.